South Koreans mourn loss of of two marines

Saturday

Nov 27, 2010 at 12:01 AMNov 27, 2010 at 6:02 AM

SEONGNAM, South Korea (AP) — Dignitaries placed white chrysanthemums on a funeral altar today as South Korea honored two marines killed in a North Korean artillery attack that was one of the worst bombardments of its territory since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The South Korean marines commander vowed unspecified “thousand-fold” retaliation at the funeral, as the country geared up for joint military maneuvers with the United States starting Sunday that are likely to keep tensions soaring following the attack on a South Korean island — which also killed two civilians.

North Korea issued new warnings yesterday against the Yellow Sea war games, calling them an “unpardonable provocation” and warning of retaliatory attacks that would “turn the stronghold of enemies into a sea of fire” if its own territory is violated.

The comments ran on the state-run Uriminzokkiri website, and came a day after the North’s warnings that the peninsula was on the “brink of war.”

China, under pressure from the United States and South Korea to rein in its ally North Korea, urged both sides to show restraint while Washington played down the belligerent rhetoric, noting that the weekend war games were routine and planned well before last week’s attack.

“The pressing task now is to put the situation under control and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents,” Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton by phone yesterday, according to the ministry’s website.

The North’s strike Tuesday destroyed large parts of Yeonpyeong Island in a major escalation of sporadic skirmishes along the disputed sea border.

The attack — eight months after a torpedo sank a South Korean warship, killing 46 sailors — has laid bare Seoul’s weaknesses in defense 60 years after the start of the Korean War.

South Korea’s government has struggled to recoup from the surprise attacks, replacing the defense minister yesterday.

A dispatch yesterday from Chinese state media saying Beijing’s foreign minister had met with the North Korean ambassador appeared to be an effort to trumpet China’s role as a responsible actor and placate both the United States and South Korea.

“The Chinese government is trying to send Pyongyang a signal that if they continue to be so provocative, China will just leave the North Koreans to themselves,” said Zhu Feng, director of Peking University’s Center for International and Strategic Studies.

In Seongnam, near Seoul, about 600 mourners including South Korea’s Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and the marine commander, Maj. Gen. You Nak-jun, attended the funeral for the two marines as somber music played.

Dignitaries and family members placed chrysanthemums before framed photos of the two victims.